Investigation into the Mechanism by Which Cyclodextrins Influence Transdermal Drug Delivery

The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) increases transdermal permeation. Hairless mouse skin was pretreated with HPCD solutions for up to 4 h. After removing the HPCD, corticosteroid-containing suspensions were applied and the transdermal flux and skin accumulation of two model drugs were investigated. After pretreatment, changes to the stratum corneum endothermic melting transitions were determined as an indication of HPCD-induced lipid disorganization. Results demonstrated that HPCD pretreatment had no significant effect on the transdermal permeation or skin accumulation of the model corticosteroids. These findings suggest that HPCD functions to enhance the apparent solubility of the drug in the formulation, thus increasing transdermal permeation rather than extracting lipids from the skin.     

PHENOLIC ANTIOXIDANT ENRICHMENT OF SOY FLOUR-SUPPLEMENTED GUAVA WASTE BY RHIZOPUS OLIGOSPORUS-MEDIATED SOLID-STATE BIOPROCESSING

In this paper, we investigated the potential for Rhizopus oligosporus to produce enhanced levels of free phenolics from guava residue mixed with soy flour as the nitrogen source.β‐glucosidase activity and antioxidant activity in crude extracts were evaluated. Two substrates were studied based on carbon and nitrogen ratios: A, 90% guava residue : 10% soy flour (G9) and B, 50% guava residue : 50% soy flour (G5). Bioprocessing increased water extractable phenolics 12.9% with G9 substrate and 98.6% with G5 substrate. For both substrates, antioxidant activity increased during early stages of fungal growth but decreased thereafter. Phenolic antioxidant mobilization during bioprocessing was associated withβ‐glucosidase activity and hypothesized to involve the mobilization of polymeric phenolics. The bioconversion of soy flour‐supplemented guava residue by R. oligosporus represents a novel strategy for the enhancement of phenolic antioxidant content and potential commercial value of guava wastes.     

Influence of Poultry Species, Muscle Groups, and NaCl Level on Strength, Deformability, and Water Retention in Heat-Set Muscle Gels

The effects of poultry species (chicken and turkey), muscle groups (breast, thigh, and drum) and NaCl concentration (1% and 2%) on a low fat gel system were compared using measurements of shear stress (strength), shear strain (deformability), and two water retention measurements. Results showed doubling NaCl tended to double stress for all species and muscle groups and increased strain by 30–50%. Cross species differences showed higher stress in turkey gels than in chicken gels with 2% NaCl. For both species, stress, strain and water retention were lowest in breast gels with both NaCl concentrations, and strain was greater in thigh gels than in drum gels with 2% NaCl.     

Total replacement of solvent in polyurethane synthesis using carbon dioxide soluble 1,3‐dichlorodistannoxane catalysts

This work demonstrates catalytic synthesis of polyurethanes using 1,3‐dichlorodistannoxane catalysts ( 1 ) in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and carbon dioxide expanded liquids (CXL). Catalytic polyurethane synthesis was also performed in pure organic solvent (dimethylformamide) for comparison. In this study, mainly, 4, 4′‐methylene‐bis‐(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI) as the diisocyanate precursor and ethylene glycol (EG) as the diol precursor were used for polyurethane synthesis. In addition to MDI, hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and p‐isocyanatobenzylisocyanate (PIBI) were also used for polyurethane synthesis with different diols or triol in CO₂. Polyurethanes with a molecular weight ranging from 3000 to 70,000 were synthesized depending upon the combination of diisocyanate and diol used. Comparable yields of polyurethanes were obtained using an all butyl group substituted ( 1a ) catalyst in CO₂ (55 bars, 50°C) and in DMF (50°C). Additionally, the yield and polydispersity index (PDI) of polymer formed in neat CO₂ was comparable with those synthesized in the largely used organic solvent DMF. Interestingly, catalyst 1a in CXL (55 bars, 50°C) gave higher yields, and polymers with lower PDI (1.19). Reactions carried out in scCO₂ at 145 bars using PIBI and EG were found to be about three times faster than the reaction carried out in DMF. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Book Review

Abstract

Arsenic in the Environment Part I: Cycling and Characterization. 430 pages, hard cover. Part 11: Human Health and Ecosystem Effects. 292 pages, hard cover Volume 26 in the Wiley Series in Advancements in Environmental Science and Technology Published by: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1994 Editor: Jerome O. Nriagu     

北美TVA电力市场

通过对北美TVA电网内实行的区域偏差控制ACE、自动发电控制AGC、负荷预测控制Load Forecast等，描述了北美电力市场的商业化运营。     

Randomized phase II trial of BCDT [carmustine (BCNU), cisplatin, dacarbazine (DTIC) and tamoxifen] with or without interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and interleukin (IL-2) in patients with metastatic melanoma

The purpose of this study was to evaluate in a randomized phase II trial the efficacy and toxicity of combination biochemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic melanoma. Sixty-five patients with metastatic melanoma (ECOG performance status 0 or 1) were randomized to receive intravenous BCNU 100 mg m(-2) (day 1, alternate courses), cisplatin 25 mg m(-2) (days 1-3), DTIC 220 mg m(-2) (days 1-3) and oral tamoxifen 40 mg (BCDT regimen) with (n = 35) or without (n = 30) subcutaneous interleukin 2 (IL-2) 18 x 10(6) iu t.d.s. (day - 2), 9 x 10(6) iu b.d. (day - 1 and 0) and interferon 2 alpha (IFN-alpha) 9 MU (days 1-3). Evidence for immune activation was determined by flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Treatment was repeated every 4 weeks up to six courses depending on response. The overall response rate of BCDT with IL-2/IFN-alpha was 23% [95% confidence interval (CI) 10-40%] with one complete response (CR) and seven partial responses (PR), and for BCDT alone 27% (95% CI 12-46%) with eight PRs; the median durations of response were 2.8 months and 2.5 months respectively. Sites of response were similar in both groups. There was no difference between the two groups in progression-free survival or overall survival (median survival 5 months for BCDT with IL-2/IFNalpha and 5.5 months for BCDT alone). Although 3 days of subcutaneous IL-2 resulted in significant lymphopenia, evidence of immune activation was indicated by a significant rise in the percentage of CD56- (NK cells) and CD3/HLA-DR-positive (activated T cells) subsets, without any change in the percentage of CD4 or CD4 T-cell subsets. Toxicity assessment revealed a significantly higher incidence of severe thrombocytopenia in patients treated with combination chemotherapy than with chemotherapy alone (37% vs 13%, P = 0.03) and a higher incidence of grade 3/4 flu-like symptoms (20% vs 10%) and fatigue (26% vs 13%). The addition of subcutaneous IL-2 and IFNalpha to BCDT chemotherapy in a randomized phase II trial resulted in immune activation but did not improve response rates in patients with metastatic melanoma, and indeed may increase some treatment-related toxicity.     

Compensating effects in electromigration kinetics

A diversity of physico-chemical, thermally activated phenomena, whose rates are described in the general form $\text{A}\text{exp}\text{(?}\text{Q}\text{kT}\text{)}$, are found to exhibit a compensation effect. For a series of similar processes, when compensation exists, A and Q vary sympathetically; i.e. increases in Q are accompanied by increases in A. Temperature-ramp Resistance Analysis to Characterize Electromigration (TRACE) was applied to a series of aluminum and aluminum-alloy thin film conductors, providing the kinetic parameters for each conductor in one experiment. These data were tested for the possibility of a compensation effect, and a correlation was found between in A and Q. The existence of a compensation effect implies that there is a single temperature (isokinetic temperature) at which the electromigration rate is nearly the same for all the conductors tested. To utilize kinetic parameters determined by TRACE experiments in the comparison of electromigration lifetimes, a “time to failure” for each stripe is calculated at several temperatures spanning the isokinetic temperature. At each temperature, the generated distribution of “times to failure” is log-normal. The standard deviation of the distribution is a function of temperature with a minimum at the isokinetic temperature. The implication of these results with respect to extrapolation of mean time to failure data is discussed.